Child&#39;s riding toy



July 11, 1961 J. c. DIMITRIADIS 2,992,009

CHILDS RIDING TOY Filed Oct. 8, 1957 38 36 James 6. filmifriadis I INVENTOR.

42 T 55 BY F 44 i 60 (um Wavy 3m United States Patent 2,992,009 CHILDS RIDING TOY James C. Dimitriadis, 3334 SE. 112th St., Portland, Oreg. Filed Oct. 8, 1957, Ser. No. 688,927 2 Claims. (Cl. 2801.13)

The present invention generally relates to an amusement device and more particularly to a riding toy espec ally adapted for use by children and incorporates a spring construction whereby the rider by shifting his weight may propel the toy in a highly novel and entertaining manner.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a riding toy for children which is spring operated and occupant propelled with the main spring being disposed in the center of the riding toy and with projecting auxiliary springs being provided at cirournferentially spaced points on the riding toy for preventing the toy from tilting beyond certain Another object of the present invention is to provide a riding toy simulating an animal with the circumferentiaL ly spaced springs generally simulating the legs of'a four legged animal with these legs generally serving to prevent the toy from tilting beyond certain limits with the legs being generally in the form of curved fiat leaf springs.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simulated horse riding toy incorporating a central spring with a ground engaging foot disposed below the body whereby the occupant is provided with a seat and foot rest on the shaft portion of the spring whereby manipulation by the occupant may propel the horse somewhat similar to the manner in which a Pogo stick is propelled.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, amusement qualities, adaptation for its particular purposes, safety in operation, adaptation to develop certain muscles and coordination of children and its relatively inexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the riding toy of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the details of construction of the main spring and foot rest; and

FIGURE 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 illustrating further structural details of the spring and the casing therefor.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the riding toy of the present invention which incorporates a body generally designated by the numeral 12 which is generally in the form of the outline of a horse and includes a head portion 14 with upstanding simulated cars 16 at the front thereof with the head portion 14 being connected to the, main portion 18 of the body through a neck portion 20. The neck portion 20 is provided with a transversely extending rod 22 forming a pair of handles one to either side of the neck portion 20. Projecting from the rounded rear of the main body 18 is a simulated tail 24 and centrally of the longitudinal length of the main body 18 is provided a seat 26 which is generally in the form of a saddle for providing a seat for the occupant.

Vertically disposed within the main body 18 generally PatentedJuly 11, 1961 in underlying relation to the seat 26 is a vertically elongated cylindrical casing or housing 28 having a closed upper end abutting the interior of the main body 18 generally below the saddle 26. The casing 28 may be provided with projecting lugs 30 for receiving fastening means 32 for securing the casing 28 within the main body 18 with the casing 28 extending below the main body por tion 18 but having the major portion thereof disposed within the main body 18. a

The casing 28 may also be provided with attaching flanges at the upper end thereof and at the bottom end thereof the casing 28 is provided with an aperture 34in the closed lower end thereof and a transverse plate 36 is connected to the casing 28 as by welding 38 with the trans verse plate 36 terminating in slightly upturned ends 40 for providing a pair of foot rests for the occupant wherein the foot rests are disposed to opposite sides of the casing 28 and extend outwardly beyond the sides of the main body 18 whereby a person disposed on the toy may apply force on the foot rests provided by the plate 36.

Slidable through the aperture 34 in the closed lower end of the casing 28 and also through a similar opening in the plate 36 is an elongated shaft 42 having a circular foot or plate 44 on the lower end thereof with a resilient cushioning member 46 being disposed on the undersu rface of the plate 44. The upper end of the shaft 42 is progvided with a circular plate 48 and an elongated spring 50 is disposed between the plate 48 and the lower closed end of the casing 28 with the spring being rigidly secured to the lower closed end of the casing 28 and the plate 48 by any suitable means such as a removable clip to permit replacement of the spring. Thus when down ward force is exerted on the foot rests and the casing 28, the casing 28 will move downward in relation to the shaft 42 thus tensioning or elongating the spring 50 so that as the weight of the occupant is balanced by the spring 50, the casing 28 will have a tendency to bounce in direct proportion to the shifting of the occupants weight, that is by the occupant following generally a jumping action with his weight distributed between the foot rests, seat or saddle and hand holds, the toy may be propelled forwardly or in any other direction dependent upon the direction of movement of the occupant.

For preventing the body from tilting over, four outwardly extending spring members 52 are provided at circumferentially spaced points along the main body 18 and secured thereto by fastening members 54. The spring members 52 are in the form of flat leaf springs and terminate in a reversely curved outer end portion 56 which have the terminal inwardly extending ends curled into a cylindrical portion 58. Adjacent the cylindrical portion 58 and adjacent the terminal end of the inwardly turned portion 56 is a resilient pad or cushion 60 which prevents marring or scratching of floor surfaces similar to the member 46. These legs 52 prevent complete tipping over in any direction and generally will be three inches above the plate 44 during normal limits of operation thereof.

The toy will spring up and down and by tilting slightly forwardly, the occupant may cause the toy to bounce in whatever direction tilted. If the toy gets overbalanced, the spring legs will prevent complete tilting over thus providing a safe toy and one which is highly novel and after the child has become skilled in operation thereof he may control the operation of the device to such an extent that he may actually simulate the movement of a horse whereby the legs will purposefully come into contact with the floor surface somewhat in the nature of a horse thus providing a highly entertaining and amusing riding toy which is extremely safe in operation and rela tively easy to maneuver.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to .the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modificationsand equivalents maybe resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A toy riding device comprising a body member jsim'ulating an'ianimal, an occupants seat on said body "member, said body member having a vertically extending socket in the bottom thereof, a depending support plurality of outwardly extending legs terminating in downwardly and inwardly curved portions each inwardly curved portion having a pad thereon disposed in a horizontal plane above the plane of the foot, said legs being 2. An occupant propelled jumping toy comprising an elongated body simulating an animal and having corner extremities, a seat for an occupant on said body, a vertically extending casing mounted on said body, an elon- 'in the form of resilient flat leaf springs thereby preventing 25 tilting of the body member about the foot on the lower end of the support shaft beyond the limits of the resilient legs.

gated shaft slidably received in said casing, a support surface engagin-gfoot on the lower end of the shaft, spring means resiliently urging the shaft downwardly for resiliently supporting the body and an occupant thereon, said casing, shaft, seat-and foot being generally in the central portion-ofthe body thereby enabling an occupant toimpart a jumping action to the toy for propelling the toy in a jumping manner in the direction in which the toy is tilted by the occupant, and a plurality of downwardly extending resilient leg members mounted on said body adjacent the corner extremities thereof with the leg members terminating in laterally spaced relation'tothe foot and the bodyin a horizontal plane above the horizontal planeof the foot whereby the foot normally is the only part of the toy engaging a supporting surface when .the toy is propelled by the occupant with the leg members limiting the tilting movement of the toy about the foot in any :direction.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 94,767 Joutras Mar. '5, 194-5 1,890,583 Meehan 'Dec. 13,1932 2,743;104 Dodson Apr. 24, 1956 2,793,044 Bottemiller et al May '21, 1957 2,884,247 Johns Apr. 28, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 532,133 France. Nov. 9, 1921 211,231 Germany June 25, 1909 633,655 Great Britain Dec. 19, 1949 

